- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas strode toward the heart of Draco, calling out in a bellowing voice, though his mind was very much elsewhere. "Overseer Cain?"

He'd waited, deliberately, before really planning. When he did this--if he did this, if Cain managed--he didn't want the dragons to suspect. It wasn't that he was afraid of them. He wasn't. It was, first, that Order would have likely let its guard down by now; and second, that there was no point in aggravating the dragon family when they were already willing (most of them, at least) to fight the forces of Order. And they would have suspected the Forge, had he acted right away--because he'd tried to talk to them about it. In retrospect, addressing Dread himself had probably been the worst possible choice, but Vargas did not know the others well enough to be sure. He'd tried to explain that the chrysalized diamond was infected, infested, with a terminal corruption: that Order had taken the white dragon, and that she would never be her own creature again. That she was controlled, manipulated.

To his credit, at least Dread had listened. And he'd seemed... disturbed, even mentioned almost mournfully that he'd been warned about something like this before, but hadn't understood (unsurprisingly). But in the end he was completely unwilling to actually harm his child, too bonded with her, too filled with pointless emotion. Dread's bottom line had essentially been to say that if Bone were happy, he was happy for her, regardless of all else. Foolish. She would be Dread's doom, if he were not careful--the moment Dontacael wished it, the dragon would infect the rest of them.

Vargas couldn't have that. He'd keep Order from them--protect them whether they liked it or not--and reuse the diamond for something other, something that would serve Chaos instead.

But... for that, he needed Cain. A direct assault would be unwise--the dragon could fly, and Ursa would be full of Praetors and the like that would scurry out to aid her. Better to strike unexpectedly, to end her before a battle had begun, and spirit her stone away before any of the Hive knew what had happened. He'd considered, too, the tunnel that led Ursa to Leo--but he'd discuss these details with his Overseer.

He had to leave some room for Cain to make its own decision, and he trusted it to do so. It had a good head on its shoulders, though Vargas did note with some trepidation that this would be its first true test.

"Overseer Cain," he called again, coming to a halt near the Black Spire.

With luck, Cain would be in earshot.

@Cain

In the time following the battle for Leo, Cain had found itself with an itch. Canis remained under Order's control, and likely other caverns as well. It was content to patrol with the forge's brutes, looking for Order that strayed too far from the eyes of Dontacael... but thus far, it had not found the opportunity to the damage it craved.

Restless, Cain stretched out in the small dwelling that lined the top off the climb, considering its options as it played with the remains of a mouse. It took great effort to rest these days, but it was wary about wearing itself thin when another assault could happen at any time. It glanced idly at the dried puddle of blood in the corner of its nest, and its tail lashed with irritation. No, it couldn't scry right now without getting another source of liquid-- its pool had dried while it was hunting for another meal.

Useless.

Master Vargas's voice pulled it from its swimming, irritable thoughts. It didn't hesitate, knocking the scraps of prey to the side and lunging out of the dwelling's opening into a grand, sweeping flight. It ducked and dived, carving a neat path toward its Master, landing mere seconds after Master Vargas's second call at his feet, crimson eyes flicking over the Black Spire's glistening form.

It didn't care much for the overwhelming chaotic energy that radiated from the Spire, despite its position, but ever since its experience with Order, it had all the more respect for it.

"Master Vargas," Cain spoke, its gaze rising to meet the Leviathan's towering stare. It cut to the point, expectant and hungry: "Your orders?" Pleasantries, it assumed, belonged to times of peace. It intended to waste no time.

@Vargas

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Mental notes ticked over as the Leviathan's eyes ranged across Cain's eager attentiveness. Dutiful. Efficient. Professional. Ready. That last was the most important, for now. Not that he'd blame someone for arriving groggy with sleep, but Cain always impressed with its every word, and its demeanor.

"Overseer," he greeted it, a stern grunt following. It was a thoughtful sound, an acknowledgment, as Vargas lowered himself to nevertheless towering haunches. "I want to pass an idea by you." It was more than that, of course, but he'd start with his motivations: he respected Cain--and Cain's mind--enough to leave his concept open to molding and modification.

"It is about the dragons in Leo. We have had issue with them before, and with one of them turned to Order-" Ahh, did Cain know-? Vargas could sense their power, their stones. But his Overseer could not. "The white one," he explained, then paused--Two are white. "The heavier one, that chrysalized in the battle. We risk all of them being turned to Order over time, given their bond. It is a threat that would compound the dangers we already face, so I'd like to head that off. I have tried speaking with the one called Dread. They are unwilling to do what is necessary. And a direct confrontation--an ambush or a fight--will only have it fly away, or have the rest of them join the fight. Then the rest of the dragons might find out..." Vargas waved one long forelimb, his six-thumbed hand making a vaguely dismissive gesture. "It would be easier," he explained, eyes fixing on Cain--and he knew the Overseer's mind would already have come to the same conclusion, would be ranging ahead over possibilities--"to find it and kill it alone, quickly, and return its stone to the Forge. I can make something else with it, then, something that will serve us and not the Hive. Are you interested in attempting it-? I will be present, if in one of the tunnels, as backup. Just in case. But perhaps if you have an assassin in training... They can see firsthand--or you can tackle it alone. I'd like your opinion. On location, strategy." Vargas fell silent, briefly thinking over all that he'd now said.

If it failed, it failed. He didn't have all that much riding on this: he was rewarding forays out into Order areas, the purging of that disgusting fungus, patrols to deal with stray drones, but the dragon was more of an idle goal. An important one, in the strategic view, but not one that victory would likely hinge upon.

That didn't mean it wasn't worth the attempt.

At length, he nodded to Cain--as if to indicate that he were finished speaking, inviting Cain's response.

@Cain

Cain's long, rabbit-esqe ears pricked to their full height, its gaze intense as Master Vargas lowered himself. The dragons presented a dire threat, proven by their split allegiences. Cain itself owed Dread a reward for his efforts, one that it considered owed when the caves weren't under immediate threat.

"The one belonging to Order," it answered with a nod. The white dragon who had frozen over parts of Canis, the one who could have easily swayed its kin into the wrong side of the war.

Dread would not turn on his own kin. Such was the way of the gembound, bound not by the needs of the nest but by their own whims. Cain did not blame the dragon for this weakness: it knew quite well that they all were like that. They had not been raised with a purpose and given higher meaning. They could be swayed by wants and greed, their folly simply fickliness. Really, Cain was grateful for their simplicity.

Cain continued to listen intently, its heart beginning to quicken as it began to pick up what Vargas was laying out before it. An opportunity.

The chance to kill.

The most precious opportunity to prove itself.

This was no small ask-- Master Vargas even offered back-up, though Cain took this less as doubt in the Master's mind and more as a necessary part of the plan. Plan to never fail. If a failstate was Cain dying, then certainly: not even its pride would keep it from accepting its Master's aid.

The mention of an assassin in training gave it pause. There were some, certainly, that showed some potential... But did it trust any of them to not foil its plot? It wanted to say yes. It wanted, after all, to pass on its knowledge, to make the Forge stronger.

"I will see if any of the potentials will take such a task seriously enough to come with," it remarked, acknowledging and leaving the note on the table. Perhaps, perhaps not.

"But regardless," it went on, "A fast enough acting poison, provided by my magic, will be enough. And while my teeth are not naturally strong enough to pierce the strong hide of a dragon, I can enhance that with my magic as well. Once the poison takes effect," its words slowed as it glanced off to the side, trying to recall. The stone-- had it been the glistening spikes of its tail? "I can sever the tail, and take its stone." A monumental task for a small creature, but not for a transcended savant: its animal magic would make short work of dissecting the dragon. This it believed without a shred of doubt. The harder part was getting close enough, fast enough, without being discovered.

"Order has infected lessers on their side, but if I can trick them into thinking that I am also an infected lesser, I can get close to the heart of their nest without raising an alarm." It hesitated. "It may be worth spreading spores on to my pelt, though I would have to be careful not to ingest any." It would be a helpful disguise, regardless. It paused, considering Master Vargas's reaction: would that be too much of a risk? Would it be worth trying? It believed itself capable, naturally, but it knew its Master understood Order well beyond what it did.

As for the location... "I will have to study the dragon. I know it well, now, well enough to scry it. I can decide my route based on what it is doing. If we are lucky," it did not hold its breath, "it will have a patrol route through Ursa by itself, where I can strike it alone."

And if not? Then it would have to take a more extreme approach.

@Vargas

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas listened, waiting until Cain had fully finished. He absorbed each word, turning it all over in his mind, making notes as he did. A potential trainee was left as a 'maybe;' the concepts of poison and a heavy bite were greeted with slow nods. The mention of the tail being severed was met with a tilted head and a mental note to comment--as was the note of fungal 'disguise.' But still Vargas waited, until the plan was fully laid out.

He was silent for a beat as he mulled it all back over, and then he spoke. "Ensure you get the right one--there are two white dragons. I don't know where the other one's stone is but--yes, this one's is the tail." He had seen Asimona, but couldn't recall her stone location. He wanted to ensure Cain didn't kill the wrong one. "The rest sounds a solid plan. Scout, and come back to me when you are ready to enact it. But don't bother with the disguise, I think. If I am not mistaken the Order beasts are a true hivemind. They'll know as soon as they sense you that you are not one of them. Your senses aren't fed into their own," he explained, "and they will never have seen you before. It shouldn't be a problem unless what you're doing there becomes obvious, or you linger about too long." He let that thought sit for a moment, to allow Cain time to think it over, even as he went over it all once more himself in silence.

It felt... cruel, even for him, to sever the stone and leave the dragon to slowly die. Cruel, and a risk. "If you can kill it before you sever the stone, all the better. It gives you more time to work and less time for the hive to hone in to interrupt or even kill you--and less of a chance that the creature will be able to describe its killer. Best, even, if it never sees you." He shrugged, then, and added--"But it does not matter all that much if you are seen, as long as the task is done. Bear in mind that the Hive has other winged drones--this must be done quickly and decisively." The worry--as he knew Cain would grasp--was that if one of the other dragons happened upon the infested one in the few days before it perished, or the dragon's death were interrupted, it would be able to name its attacker or killer. And that would bring about the entire issue he was trying to avoid: a family of angry dragons.

"Regardless--scouting is a wise first step. Perhaps you will find a way to refine this plan further after you've observed the creature." Maybe if it preferred a specific prey, that prey could be made into lure, or even poisoned bait--he'd need to wait and see. "Do you intend to begin now-?"

If there were other things his Overseer had to tend to first, Vargas would understand--but he wanted to know the moment Cain would be in danger. "If so, check in daily. If you do not check in, I will know to come and search for you." In case Order happened upon his Overseer before the Overseer happened upon its target.

@Cain